News & Press Releases 2009

DENVER – Colorado Attorney General John Suthers and Colorado Bureau of Investigation Director Ronald Sloan announce that on Friday, February 13, 2009, the Colorado State Grand Jury returned a thirty-one (31) count indictment naming seven (7) defendants who are alleged to have participated in or who were associated with a criminal enterprise involved in illegal professional gambling and bookmaking, loan-sharking, money laundering, tax evasion, theft, and unlawful debt collection.

DENVER – Colorado Attorney General John Suthers today announced that the State has reached a settlement with Lakewood-based Adopt a Miracle (www.adoptamiracle.com), and its owner Vinola Humphrey. The Attorney General’s Office received several complaints from prospective adoptive parents who claimed they were misled by the agency about the availability of Ukrainian children for adoption.

DENVER – Colorado Attorney General John Suthers today announced a consumer protection lawsuit against Broomfield-based Legal Aid U.S. (http://legalaidus.com), and its owner, Dan Ketelsen. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants failed to deliver the “paralegal and attorney services” they advertised nationally on the Internet.

DENVER – A group of 13 prosecutors from Baja, Mexico has spent the last week undergoing a five-day training seminar at the Colorado Department of Law. The seminar, which is sponsored by USAID through the Conference of Western Attorneys General, is part of the ongoing efforts of six Mexican states working to overhaul their criminal justice systems. The goal is to replace the current inquisitorial system, which is based almost entirely on written procedure, with an oral, adversarial system similar to that of the United States.

DENVER – Colorado Attorney General John Suthers today announced that Colorado has entered into a settlement with Countrywide Financial Corporation, and several of its affiliated entities, over the marketing of subprime and other high-risk mortgage products in Colorado. As part of the agreement, Countrywide will make nearly $6 million available to eligible Colorado borrowers and to the State, including $500,000 for the Colorado Department of Local Affairs Division of Housing to support the continued operation and expansion of the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline.

DENVER – Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, in his capacity as chairman of the state’s Methamphetamine Task Force, today released a nationwide study on the economic costs of meth use in the United States. The study, which was conducted by the RAND Drug Policy Research Center, estimates that meth use in the United States costs in excess of $23 billion in direct, indirect, and intangible costs each year.

DENVER – The following is a statement from Colorado Attorney General John Suthers regarding his plans for 2010:

“Let me say at the outset that I really love serving as Attorney General of Colorado. As I’ve told many people, I take great joy in having had the privilege of winning, what I like to call, ‘the legal trifecta’ – being able to serve as District Attorney, U.S. Attorney, and now, as Attorney General. That’s an important fact to keep in mind in trying to make sense out of what follows.

DENVER – Colorado Attorney General John Suthers has announced that the Colorado Court of Appeals today upheld the conviction of Homaidan Al-Turki on charges of false imprisonment, conspiracy, criminal extortion, theft, and 12 counts of unlawful sexual contact.

Al-Turki is a Saudi Arabian citizen who has lived in the United States since 1995. The State accused him of stealing from, and sexually abusing, his Indonesian housekeeper between 2000 and 2004. In August of 2006, an Arapahoe County judge sentenced Al-Turki to 20 years to life in prison.

DENVER – Colorado Attorney General John Suthers today announced that charges have been filed against Westminster’s Duy H. Nguyen, (date of birth 8/20/80), who is alleged to be the ringleader of a criminal enterprise responsible for a string of burglaries, car thefts, and widespread drug distribution. The 94-count indictment, which arose from a Statewide Grand Jury investigation, includes charges against ten Colorado residents for a laundry list of crimes around the west Metro area.

DENVER – Colorado Attorney General John Suthers today announced that the State of Colorado will receive more than $2.6 million as part of a settlement with Eli Lilly and Company, over allegations that Lilly engaged in an off-label marketing campaign that improperly promoted the anti-psychotic drug, Zyprexa. The settlement represents Colorado’s state share of a global settlement announced today, in which the company will resolve four federal whistleblower lawsuits, as well as claims by numerous other states and the federal government.